An Inclusive Intervention: Assessing the Impact of Colour in Learning Materials for Neurodiverse Students

Posted on 15th July 2025 by Julia Redman

Introduction

How important are the visual aspects of the learning materials that we provide, and what can be achieved by using colour to enhance these visual materials in pursuit of higher student attainment?

Reading is an essential tool for learning, and with up to 10% of the population affected by dyslexia (Brain Sci, 2021), amongst other sensory learning difficulties, it is imperative that we at UAL, offer enhanced learning material to enable those students affected, to flourish.

“Dyslexia is a learning disability of neurobiological origin whose main characteristics are difficulties with accurate or fluent word recognition. It is also characterised by poor spelling and decoding abilities which results in problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience.” (Brain Sci. 2021, original source unavailable).

Colour is more than just aesthetics. It plays a pivotal role in guiding learner attention, aiding memory, and influencing mood. According to Arnold J Wilkins (Reading Through Colour, 2003), the use of “coloured overlays on text can improve reading….and has been shown to reduce fatigue and increase fluency” (Wilkins, 2003)

The following study examines whether and how colour enhances understanding, retention, and performance among students, drawing on interdisciplinary findings from cognitive psychology, educational design, and neuroscience.

Context:

The aim of the study, in the context of my academic practice is to find ways of using colour in learning materials to enhance and improve the lived academic experience of my students, both neurodiverse and neurotypical. The impact will be measured through student feedback via the unit evaluation in Block 1 of this Yr 2 Cohort on the BSc Fashion Management.

Inclusive Learning: The problem:

The Neurodiversity Design System, which combines neurodiversity and user experience design for Learning Management Systems states that:

“cognitive fatigue can be increased by high contrast (black text on white background). Learners with an oversensitive visual cortex, visual-perceptual disorder, and those with dyslexia related difficulties (Irlen Syndrome) will experience processing issues identified as part of their neurotype”.

Research & Reflection:

Research carried out (Jakovljevi ́c, T.; Jankovi ́c,M.M.; Savi ́c, A.M.; Soldatovi ́c, I.;ˇColi ́c, G.; Jakulin, T.J.; Papa, G.; Kovi ́c,V, 2021) tested electroencephalography, heart rate variability, electrodermal activity and eye movement, in school age children. The aim was to establish the relationship between physiological parameters and colour modifications in text and backgrounds, in children aged 8-12yrs, which resulted in the identification of several key factors:

  • Dyslexic children have longer reading duration and fixation when reading on coloured background overlay.
  • Turquoise background, turquoise overlay and yellow background colours are beneficial for dyslexic readers.
  • Dyslexic children have higher values of reading power while reading with a purple overlay.

The results drove the conclusion that both pastel and intense background/overlays are beneficial for reading in both dyslexic and non-dyslexic children.

The Irlen Method has pioneered the use of tinted/coloured overlays and filters, demonstrating “improvement in reading fluency, comfort, comprehension, attention, and concentration while reducing light sensitivity”. Irlen Syndrome itself, is not dyslexia, or a reading problem specifically; it is an “information and sensory processing” problem, known as a visual, or perceptual processing disorder, caused by a core light sensitivity, which affects the way that the brain reacts and synthesises information, contributing to sensory overwhelm. Sufferers of Irlen Syndrome may experience poor comprehension, misread words, strain & fatigue, nausea, headaches, concentration issues, lack of motivation, writing difficulties and low self esteem, and a whole host of other problems, often being mistaken for other conditions like ADD or ADHD, and medicated unnecessarily.

Personal experience within the practice of teaching BSc and MSc Fashion Management students has indicated that many of my students, and in particular those who may have Individual Support Agreements in place, exhibit examples of these problems and could benefit from adjustments to the way we share information. Having already instigated automated captions for all of my lectures, changed formative assessment structure, implemented more structured content and comfort breaks, with significant improvement in attainment yr on yr, I think that a more considered use of colour in learning materials could be the next step in assisting all of my students to deliver their best work.

In order to understand the impact of colour on memory, research carried out in China by Khan & Liu (2020), tested the impact of colour on students learning memory, of those exposed to yellow coloured learning materials (papers) vs. those exposed to simple white learning materials. Statistical analysis of the data collected revealed that the group with yellow paper significantly outperformed the control group, with learning materials on white paper, evidenced by significantly higher recall after 2 weeks, suggesting that coloured materials have the potential to enhance long term retention. In this particular instance the learning in question was language, but the theory could be equally well applied across other subject matter.

In the process of developing this intervention, and sharing my ideas with a group of my peers from the PGCert cohort, the theory was borne out by one in our group of 4, who stated that, the instant I changed the on-screen slide colour from white to light blue, it reduced her level of anxiety and introduced a feeling of calmness.

Irlen identified that use of coloured tints and overlays could help 12-14% of both gifted and average neurotypical students, and 46% of neurodiverse students ie. those exhibiting reading problems, dyslexia and learning difficulties. This would lead me to believe that making some small changes, for example, the background colour of slides presented on screen, could have wide ranging positive implications for a great many students.

The Von Restorff Effect (Ballinger, 2024), which is “the proven psychological theory that the more something stands out from the crowd the more likely it is to be seen” also has the potential to come into play here. Hedwig Von Restorff discovered in an experiment that when constructing a list of words, the one that’s different is able to be recalled more easily. The implications of this could be the use of colour in highlighting text, or using coloured text to emphasise key points of learning. The following example of the Von Restorff Effect in practice, uses colour and contrast to attract attention, and a slightly bizarre example to illustrate a point (keeping distance from one another during the Covid-19 pandemic), rendering it memorable, distinctive and worthy of discussion.

Solution:

According to the research, visual stress can be greatly reduced with the addition of colour, with the choice of colour for text maintaining a high contrast ratio with a coloured background eg. black text on a pastel colour background, or white text on a deeper coloured background.

It appears that there are benefits for neurotypical learners too, in reducing eyestrain when experiencing cognitive fatigue. Changing the visual appearance in this way has the potential to improve learning retention and ease anxiety related fatigue.

Building on the UDL Guidelines, the intervention will focus on designing options for Perception, Interaction, Expression and Communication, more specifically, the use of colour to:

  • Support opportunities to customise the display of information.
  • Optimise access to accessible materials and assistive and accessible technologies & tools.
  • Use multiple media for communication.
  • Use multiple tools for construction, composition & creativity.

Implementation:

I have started to test this approach in my current lectures, in order to gain some feedback from the current cohort of first year students on the BSc Fashion Management course at LCF, however, the results have been hampered by the term coming to an end.

I plan to introduce the technique of using colour in learning materials next term, capturing specific evidence of the results within the unit evaluation survey. It would be very easy to implement more widely, and has the potential to generate positive impact across the student population.

Conclusion:

Beyond cognition, colour promotes engagement. Warm tones, such as yellow and orange evoke energy and optimism; cool tones such as blue and green bring calm.

It is clear from the variety of secondary research studied that the introduction of colour into learning materials has the potential to:

  • Increase retention of information
  • Reduce cognitive fatigue
  • Improve fluency and speed of reading
  • Enhance learning for neurodiverse and dyslexic students
  • Reduce anxiety and facilitate feelings of calm

The limitations of time, and lack of primary research at this stage, however, have led me to understand that I am only just scratching the surface of the research required, and that this may form the initial stage of a much greater piece of research.

“Colour is a power which directly influences the soul”

Wassily Kandinsky (artist)

References

Ballinger, James (2024). The Von Restorff Effect. Available at https://thebehavioursagency.com/latest/the-von-restorff-effect [accessed July 07 2025]

Barnett, Thomas (2025). Designing a brand that celebrates neurodiversity. The Neurodiverse Connection. Available at https://ndconnection.co.uk/blog/graphic-design-celebrating-neurodiversity [accessed July 07 2025]

Irlen, Helen (1983). The Irlen Method https://irlen.com/the-irlen-method/ [accessed July 01 2025]

Jakovljevi ́c, T.; Jankovi ́c,M.M.; Savi ́c, A.M.; Soldatovi ́c, I.;ˇColi ́c, G.; Jakulin, T.J.; Papa, G.; Kovi ́c,V. The Relation between PhysiologicalParameters and Colour Modificationsin Text Background and Overlay during Reading in Children with and without Dyslexia. Brain Sci. 2021, 11,539. (PDF) The Relation between Physiological Parameters and Colour Modifications in Text Background and Overlay during Reading in Children with and without Dyslexia. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351252633_The_Relation_between_Physiological_Parameters_and_Colour_Modifications_in_Text_Background_and_Overlay_during_Reading_in_Children_with_and_without_Dyslexia#fullTextFileContent [accessed Jul 01 2025].

Jutlay, Parmi (2023). Colourful Classrooms: Unlocking the Power of Colour in Learning. Available at: https://www.ecoprinters.net/en/eco-blog/colourful-classrooms-unlocking-the-power-of-colour-in-learning [accessed July 07 2025]

Khan, Jahangeer & Liu Chengyu, (2020). The impact of colours on human memory in learning, Springer Open. Available at: https://sfleducation.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40862-020-00098-8 [accessed July 07 2025]

Lott, Ben (2024) Designing For Neuro-diversity – The Impact of Colour. Denton. Available at https://www.denton.co.uk/insights/designing-for-neurodiversity-the-impact-of-colour/ [accessed July 07 2025]

Neurodiversity Design System, Colour (22nd November 2023). Available at: https://neurodiversity.design/principles/colour/#:~:text=The%20choice%20of%20colour%20for,preferred%20for%20main%2F%20body%20text. [accessed May 26 2025]

Puddle Agency (2023). Neuro-diversity Friendly Graphic Design. Available at https://puddle.agency/neurodiversity-friendly-graphic-design/ [Accessed July 14 2025]

Universal Design for Learning Guidelines. Available at: https://udlguidelines.cast.org/static/udlg3-graphicorganizer-digital-numbers-a11y.pdf

Wassily Kandinsky. Available at https://www.wassilykandinsky.net/

Web Accessibility in Mind. Available at https://webaim.org/articles/contrast/ [accessed July 07 2025]

Wilkins, Arnold. J., Reading Through Colour: How coloured filters can reduce reading difficulty, eye strain and headaches (2003)

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Inclusive Practices Blog Post 3: Race

Posted on 15th July 2025 by Julia Redman

It is very easy to be swept along in a society that stems from a highly colonised background, with the majority of those in positions of power being both white and male. Our UK House of Commons, for example, has just 14% of its’ population from ethnic minorities, and 40% female, lauded as the “most diverse parliament by race and gender” (Starmer, 2024) in its’ history. Critical Race Theory (CRT) draws on the understanding of a society shaped by racism which is endemic, systematic and unrecognised, leading to disadvantaged minoritised groups of individuals and implications for the wider society as a whole.

Bradbury (2020) crafts a policy analysis framework drawing on CRT and policy sociology, engaging a variety of different contexts, emphasising how policies can unintentionally support white privilege & power despite presenting themselves as neutral and fair.

Fig. 1 CRT Framework for Policy Analysis, Bradbury, 2020.

This highlights how a “one size fits all” policy approach may impact negatively on children or students who speak English as an additional language, contributing to lower expectations and attainment for these minoritised groups. It is clearly not just those who speak English as a second language, but anyone marginalised by race, ethnicity or nationality too.

As infants, we start life as a “blank sheet of paper”, affected and influenced, as we grow up, by layer upon layer of information, experiences, education, culture and affluence, through which our individual personalities and beliefs are formed. It was, indeed, heartbreaking to witness the moment when a group of schoolchildren learned about white privilege (Channel 4, 2020), otherwise explained as the absence of having to live with the consequences of endemic racism in society.

As the divisions between white children and the rest of the group becomes evident, the inequalities are realised, and the atmosphere amongst the group completely changes. It is a vivid reminder that I myself, sit in a position of privilege, and that my interactions in academic practice have the potential to generate an inclusive learning experience only when looked at through the pro-active lens of anti-racism.

In a Ted Talk on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Asif Sadiq reinforces this message by stating that the change has to come from education. However, given Sadiq’s example of his own son requiring additional support in school, how do we build the resources, both human and financial, to deal with the specific requirements of every individual? In a university environment, where we might have upwards of 130+ students in a room, how do we give our lecturers the tools to “adapt their teaching style according to each individual’s needs”? With this in mind, we must consider how the policies we develop and implement in everyday practice fight against the norms and stereotypes which are structurally embedded, in order to reduce inequalities of attainment and experience.

In looking for solutions and a way forward, conclusions would indicate that policy development must be anti-racist in its stance (race-aware, not race-blind or even race-neutral), include a diverse cohort of decision-makers, consider minoritised groups from inception, and identify and challenge disparities. We are, as Sadiq states, going to have to step out of our comfort zones, and build our own lifelong learning journeys to enable change in society, and in our teaching practice. Simply monitoring the data will never be enough to actively drive that change.


Resources

Bradbury, A., 2020. A critical race theory framework for education policy analysis: The case of bilingual learners and assessment policy in England. Race Ethnicity and Education, 23(2), pp.241-260. 

Channel 4. (2020) The School That Tried to End Racism. [Online}. Youtube. 30 June. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I3wJ7pJUjg 

Garrett, R. (2024). Racism shapes careers: career trajectories and imagined futures of racialised minority PhDs in UK higher education. Globalisation, Societies and Education, pp.1–15. 

Mahmood, S (2024) Record levels of diversity in parliament. Sky News [Online]. Available at: https://news.sky.com/story/record-levels-of-diversity-in-parliament-not-by-chance-but-because-of-purposeful-effort-13176726

Orr, J. (2022) Revealed: The charity turning UK universities woke. The Telegraph [Online]. Youtube. 5 August. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRM6vOPTjuU

Sadiq, A. (2023) Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Learning how to get it right. TEDx [Online}. Youtube. 2 March. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR4wz1b54hw 

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Inclusive Practices Blog Post 2: Faith and Intersectionality

Posted on 14th July 2025 by Julia Redman

It is human nature to relate most closely to the culture and beliefs that we have grown up with, but in an increasingly multi-cultural society, the intersection of faith and identity becomes ever more blurred. When we consider this in the context of “religion”, as Kwame Anthony Appiah points out during his Ted Talk, religion itself is not a thing, and the beliefs of every different faith determine the behaviour, culture and practices of the society within which it is embedded.

This is never more evident than in the fashion industry, and how we choose to dress.

I first saw this image when I invited The Babel Group to deliver some cross-cultural training to my team of buyers, before embarking on a sourcing trip to China, India and Bangladesh. It has stayed with me ever since, as a reminder that we are often blinkered, and potentially highly judgemental/biased, when it comes to making an effort to understand a different cultural perspective. This is a clear example of what Appiah means, when he discusses the fact that one religion, with specific beliefs, is also likely to believe that other religions, do not believe the right things. This unconscious bias is driven by perceptions of a person based on their beliefs or appearance.

‘Bikini vs. Burqa’, 7 January 2011. © Malcolm Evans

Those foreign business tours and factory visits often caused me to wrestle with the conflicting interests that I faced, as a buyer, working for a business that was focused on profit and growth, and as a woman, mother, sister, who struggled to reconcile the needs of the business with the cultural and financial aspects of life for those in our supply chains.

On one occasion, I was visiting a factory in Dhaka, where the majority of the workforce were Muslim women, all of whom wore head coverings, in accordance with their faith and values. There were mens t-shirts on the production line, going through for a British retailer. The image on the t-shirt was of a topless woman, in a very suggestive pose. Given the concept of modesty (Jawad, 2022), I was a little taken aback, and asked the male production supervisor how the female workers felt about producing such an item, given their embodied faith & gender? His reply “I have no idea, we’ve never asked them”. Not one to shy away from a difficult conversation, I wanted to know if he would mind if I asked, to which he agreed. By now word had gone round the factory and we had attracted quite a crowd of, mainly male, supervisors and managers. Someone translated my question for the women, but they clearly did not want to jeopardise their employment by upsetting senior managers, so were very coy and non committal in their responses. Some of their male colleagues were not so reticent; it became very clear that they found the image very offensive, and would not want their wives, mothers, sisters, daughters handling such a product.

This strikes me as an example of ethical and epistemic injustice (Rekis, 2023), if I am understanding the the theory correctly, in the assumption on the behalf of the British retailer, that it is acceptable to expect Muslim women to work on these products, which are the very definition of sexual objectification, despite their faith and beliefs. The experience led me to better understand the intersectionality of faith, race and gender in the context of fashion production, not least in the socio-economic context of the workforce in Bangladesh, where poverty and the sheer volume of people, forces women into minimum wage jobs to supplement family income.

This lived experience and a number of other occasions like it, has shaped me into a better communicator and lecturer. Empathy, tolerance and an ability to absorb and understand different perspectives, are key to performance in a global business environment, and these are qualities that I aim to instil in my students.

Resources


Appiah, K. A. (2014) Is religion good or bad? (This is a trick question). Youtube [Online]. 16 June. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2et2KO8gcY

Babel Language & Cultural Training (no date) Why Your Employees Need Cross Cultural Training. Available at: https://www.babelgroup.co.uk/about/babel-blog/why-your-employees-need-cross-cultural-training/


Rekis, J. (2023) Religious Identity and Epistemic Injustice: An Intersectional Account. Hypatia 38, pp779–800. Available to download below and also Moodle via the Workshops 2 Supplementary Readings folder.


Jawad, H. (2022) Islam, Women and Sport: The Case of Visible Muslim Women. [Online]. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/religionglobalsociety/2022/09/islam-women-and-sport-the-case-of-visible-muslim-women/ 


Trinity University (2016) Challenging Race, Religion, and Stereotypes in the Classroom. [Online]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CAOKTo_DOk

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Inclusive Practices Formative Assessment Task: Inclusive Learning Intervention

Posted on 26th May 2025 by Julia Redman

With the increasing number of neurodiverse students joining courses at UAL, I am interested to understand more about the way we present our content in lectures and seminars, and how well it serves the needs of those students.

As a result of some of the learning we have considered to date on the PGCert course, I have introduced automated captions to all of my lectures and seminars, which has resulted in some good feedback from both my deaf student, and those for whom English is a second language. I am now turning my attention to the visual, creative and effectual learning materials and content that we show on screen.

As a creative university, within the Fashion Business School at LCF, we have a very professional looking, but dry, black text on a white background template for lecture and seminar production – why, if this is not the best way to communicate visually? We use a significant amount of imagery, infographics and visuals to create interest and engagement, but I am also very interested in exploring the impact of colour on the student learning experience. This interest was, in some part, inspired by one of my LCF & PGCert colleagues, Ian Holmes, having viewed his use of colour in the production of Language Development materials.

According to Arnold J Wilkins (Reading Through Colour, 2003), the use of ‘coloured overlays on text can improve reading….and has been shown to reduce fatigue and increase fluency’. I am keen to investigate how the use of colour in our lecture content might improve attention in class, and retention of information.

The Neurodiversity Design System, which combines neurodiversity and user experience design for Learning Management Systems states that ‘cognitive fatigue can be increased by high contrast (black text on white background). Learners with an oversensitive visual cortex, visual-perceptual disorder, and learners with dyslexia related difficulties (Irlen Syndrome) will experience processing issues identified as part of their neurotype.’

According to the research, visual stress can be greatly reduced with the addition of colour, with the choice of colour for text maintaining a high contrast ratio with a coloured background eg. black text on a pastel colour background, or white text on a deeper coloured background.

It appears that there are benefits for neurotypical learners too, in reducing eyestrain when experiencing cognitive fatigue. Changing the visual appearance in this way has the potential to improve learning retention and ease anxiety related fatigue.

I have started to test this approach in my current lectures, in order to gain some feedback from the current cohort of first year students on the BSc Fashion Management course at LCF. It would be very easy to implement more widely, and has the potential to generate positive impact across the student population.

References

Wilkins, Arnold. J., Reading Through Colour: How coloured filters can reduce reading difficulty, eye strain and headaches (2003)

Neurodiversity Design System, Colour (22nd November 2023). Available at: https://neurodiversity.design/principles/colour/#:~:text=The%20choice%20of%20colour%20for,preferred%20for%20main%2F%20body%20text. (accessed 26.05.2025)

Helen Irlen, The Irlen Method https://irlen.com/the-irlen-method/ (accessed 26.05.2025)

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IP Inclusive Practices Blog Post 1: Disability

Posted on 27th April 2025 by Julia Redman

I guess the first thing to acknowledge in my study of disability and intersectionality is that as a white woman from a relatively comfortable background, grammar school & university educated, and having been able to live out my career ambitions without too much hinderance, I cannot possibly begin to fully understand how it truly feels to be marginalised, excluded or discriminated against, purely on the basis of disability, race, gender or socioeconomic status etc, or indeed, a combination of these identities.

My experiences, assumptions and beliefs have shaped the educator that I am, and in aiming to develop a deeper understanding of the way that various identity components combine & contribute to discrimination, my objective is to enable all of my students to be their best selves, and actively build inclusivity into my academic practice, regardless of systemic or institutional inequality.

For reference, LCF’s BAME vs White attainment gap is 15% to the detriment, vs the UAL average of 12%. The attainment gap for one of my own units is higher at 21.8%, indicating that there is significant work to do to redress the balance. Attainment for students with a declared disability is level with those with no declared disability, at 77%, but lower than the UAL average. The UAL average indicates that students with a declared disability actually perform better, than those without, at 84% vs 80% (UAL, 2025). However, there is no available data for students with multiple, intersectional identities.

Having studied Kimberle Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality, which was a new concept to me, I can now see how ‘dominant social patterns and systemic inequalities affect the lived experiences of groups and individuals who embody multiple targeted identities and that such patterns and inequalities often produce intersectional disempowerment’ (Crenshaw, 1991, p.1245). The example of a HESA statistic cited in the Bera Journal, that fewer than 1% of British professors are women of colour, demonstrating that being both black and female leads to greater marginalisation, in comparison with the experiences of being a black man or a white woman.

Looking at this through the lived experience of Ade Adepitan, a disabled black paralympian & tv presenter, I was able to gain a vivid picture of what happens when we give people opportunity, regardless of their race, gender, disability etc. Ade clearly makes the point that people are not held back by their disability itself, but by the systemic discrimination and oppression that surrounds them, a fact which is exacerbated when the individual exhibits such multiple targeted identities. There is no level playing field; society has not enabled disabled people to be their best selves. He raises the question that, as a society, are we really committed to tackling inequality? This is borne out by the BERA Journal article, which identifies that the study of intersectionality has rarely moved beyond conceptualisation and investigation to implication and implementation in academic environments.

Christine Sun Kim introduces us to the concept that, we, as a society, do not ‘see’ the deaf community. We need to find a way to make deafness normal. She very correctly points out that it would be far easier for all of us to learn BSL (as part of the school curriculum, I wonder), than it would ever be for a deaf person to ‘learn’ to hear!

Having these multiple intersectional identities, I can now reflect on and understand, subjects an individual to an increased level of marginalisation, and the likelihood that, as a result they may never fully embrace or achieve at the level that their intellect and capability would allow. Unless we, as a society, and as academic institutions, can develop truly inspirational leadership, and create policies and environments that cater for all disabilities and intersectional identities, the current lack of awareness and commitment to inclusivity is unlikely to change as dramatically as it should.

On a more personal level, I am learning very quickly that in order to help the one deaf student I have in class, my teaching and communication methods have needed to change, and that with some very simple adjustments, I can make the in class experience so much more suited to her needs. Simply by adding audio captions to the settings in my presentations, the entire class can have subtitles. In doing this for one student, it soon became apparent that so many of my students, and in particular those for whom English is a second language, found the subtitles beneficial. My question then, is why are we as lecturers, not taught to do this for all of our in person teaching?

References

UAL Undergraduate Attainment Report, 23-24. Available at: https://canvas.arts.ac.uk/documents/sppreview/1cdc0ff4-8830-4787-b187-f7db576ab259 (Accessed 27.04.2025)

Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241-1299. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039 (Accessed 17.04.2025)

Coaston, Jane (2019). The Intersectionality Wars, Vox. Available at: https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/5/20/18542843/intersectionality-conservatism-law-race-gender-discrimination (Accessed 17.04.2025)

Lukkien, Tessa, Chauhan, Trishna and Otaye-Ebedi, Lilian (2024). Addressing the diversity principle-practice gap in Western higher education institutions: A systemic review on intersectionality. British Educational Research Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Educational Research Association. Available at: https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1002/berj.4096 (Accessed 21.04.2025)

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TPP Blog Post 4 – A final reflection on Theories, Policies and Practices

Posted on 18th March 2025 by Julia Redman

As this first unit of our PGCert draws to a close, I am reflecting on our first three months as a group, the connections we have made and the learning opportunities realised.

We have tackled some pretty intense reading material, broadened the scope of the theories, policies and pedagogies within our remit and committed to the realisation of our ongoing personal and professional development by participating in a variety of learning activities, observations and reflective practice. I have been able to take away new techniques and ideas, implementing them into planning, teaching and assessment of the unit I am currently leading & sharing them with others on the team, with some very positive feedback.

All of the above have served to build my confidence and chase away the lingering imposter syndrome, which stemmed from the worry that, having spent a lifetime in industry, I did not belong in this new world of academia. Spending time with many of my classmates has reassured me that I am not alone, and that at some point, most of us are conflicted about our roles and sense of belonging.

I have come to realise the value of my experience and expertise in my subject area, but also that within the University there are multiple opportunities for learning from my peers, colleagues and students themselves. Having already undertaken the Cambridge Institute course in Sustainability Leadership, prior to starting my PGCert, I have also realised that a commitment to ‘lifelong learning’ has re-energised my career and given me greater purpose in my own personal and professional development.

Having picked up Fry, Ketteridge and Marshall’s Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education towards the end of the unit, I felt that there was real synergy between some of the points they made about becoming a successful lecturer, and the content we have been learning, sharing and implementing. But above all, the experience to date has deepened my passion for both my subject and the sharing of this knowledge with students. This is borne out by the case study of Wolverhampton University, which states that to be a successful lecturer an important factor would be “a demonstrative passion for learning in which the teacher is able to embody that enthusiasm for their subject and their research in the classroom”.

Participating in this course has ensured that I will redouble my efforts in reflecting on and critically evaluating what I have learned and how I can best apply that learning in the context of my own personal and professional development. Through extensive reading, discussion, microteaching sessions and class participation, I am also building the knowledge of theories, policies and pedagogies to enable greater application in the context of my own academic practice.

References

Edited by Fry, Heather, Ketteridge, Steve and Marshall, Stephanie A handbook for teaching and learning in higher education: enhancing academic practice. Routledge. Available at: https://www-vlebooks-com.arts.idm.oclc.org/Product/Index/2020012?page=0&startBookmarkId=-1

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TPP Blog Post 3 – A reflection on wellbeing and the impact of reflection!

Posted on 18th March 2025 by Julia Redman

I connected with someone new on LinkedIn this week, Roxanne Houshmand-Howell, founder of The Right Project, CSM alumni and the woman behind Fashion Happiness, an ‘initiative designed to empower individuals and businesses to build more resilient, positive workplaces’ and to ‘redefine success beyond just profit’.

It struck me that these are qualities that we want our students to aspire to in the businesses that they go on to work for, and as individuals in their everyday lives. A role in an ever more competitive fashion industry is certainly not for the faint hearted, and I firmly believe that part of my own personal and professional development as an educator is to help my students build the knowledge and resilience to realise their ambitions.

Having previously led a unit entitled ‘People Management’, as part of the BSc/Msc Fashion Management, Gibbs reflective cycle (Gibbs, 1988) was a core element of the topic, encouraging students to reflect on their own work, prior to summative submission. In terms of a tool to build resilience and positivity, and having used reflective practice throughout this first unit of my PGCert, I am now considering again how I can build this in more effectively into the other units I am leading.

I already reflect informally, and I am sure, sometimes subconsciously on events and learning opportunities. However, as asked by Daudelin, 1996, in her paper ‘Learning from Experience through Reflection’,

“If the process of reflection is so natural and familiar, what keeps organisations from embracing formal reflective practices as a way to encourage learning?”

In terms of my own development, and ability to critically evaluate my approach to planning, teaching and assessment, I am realising that instigating more formal reflective practice into my own timetable has the potential to become a useful documentation of what happened during a lecture or seminar, what I did well, and what was less effective, how did it affect the experiences of my students, and what would I repeat for future classes and what do I need to change or evolve to improve the experience.

References

Daudelin, Marilyn Wood (1996), Learning from Experience Through Reflection, Available at: https://www.scribd.com/document/656114477/Learning-From-Experience-Through-Reflection-1996Daudelin868 (Accessed 18.03.2025)

Gibbs, Graham (1988), Learning by Doing, A Guide to Teaching and Learning Methods Available at: https://thoughtsmostlyaboutlearning.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/learning-by-doing-graham-gibbs.pdf (Accessed 18.03.2025)

Roxanne Houshmand-Howell, The Right Project & Fashion Happiness Available at: https://www.therightproject.org/c (Accessed 17.03.2025)

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TPP Blog Post 2 – A reflection on teaching as a performance!

Posted on 18th March 2025 by Julia Redman

“Teaching is a performance. It’s exhausting and gratifying at the same time. To teach effectively is both an art and a science. The more I teach, the better I become” Anonymous survey respondent (Polger & Sheidlower, 2017)

Having embarked on a career change from over 30 years spent in the fashion industry, to invest my time and energy in teaching the next generation of fashion professionals, I can honestly say that I have found the above to be endlessly true. However, more than either art or science, I have found both of these career choices to be overwhelmingly about people and communication. So it is fitting that I now find myself embarking on my PGCert in Art, Design & Communication.

As a buyer for a number of different retailers, and subsequently Head of Buying, I now understand more evidently that I developed a wide variety of transferable skills, which can be employed in order to impart knowledge and challenge students to reach their potential.

The unit so far has reminded me of the relevance of my experience, in terms of public speaking, for example, and how to make the content relevant and accessible for my students through including real life experiences. It has also taught me that my ability to problem solve, both quickly and to achieve specific desired outcomes. These skills are critical in the development of a “dynamic system” (Bamber & Jones, 2014), ie. student and teaching environment interacting with the process to deliver on the learning outcomes. All of this applied learning so far has been very helpful in appraising my ongoing personal and professional development.

A good example of combining these skills would be during a lecture this week; one of this large cohort of students is deaf, and would usually have two British Sign Language interpreters in the room, interpreting my lecture content for her. For one reason or another, neither interpreter had turned up, causing a certain level of stress for both myself and the student. In order to help her gain value from the lecture I had to find another way to communicate and quickly, so that I did not keep the rest of the class waiting. The simple answer was to change the settings in Powerpoint to deliver automated voice captions as subtitles on screen. Having discovered that this was possible, it made me question why we do not do this as a matter of course for all of our lectures? I will be sharing this with the wider Fashion Management team tomorrow, enabling everyone to improve their communication and build further inclusivity.

Reflecting on what had been a very long day, I had learned something new which will help me “perform” better as an inclusive educator, and I was able to put a smile on the face of a student who would otherwise have really struggled to understand the content. Ultimately, this is good for both her self esteem and mine! As stated in the quote that inspired this post “exhausting and gratifying” in equal measure.

References

Bamber, Veronica & Jones, Anna (2014) Ch11 Enabling Inclusive Learning, A Handbook for Teaching & Learning in Higher Education, Taylor & Francis. Available at: https://r2.vlereader.com/Reader?ean=9781315763088

Polger, Mark Aaron & Sheidlower, Scott (2017), Engaging Diverse Learners: Teaching Strategies for Academic Librarians, Bloomsbury Publishing USA. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ual/detail.action?docID=4797324

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TPP Observation (Victor Guillen observing Julia Redman)

Posted on 17th March 2025 by Julia Redman

Record of Observation or Review of Teaching Practice        

Session to be observed/reviewed:

Seminar: Exploring Size & Fit in Fashion

Size of student group: 35 students

Observer: Victor Guillen

Observee: Julia Redman

 
Note: This record is solely for exchanging developmental feedback between colleagues. Its reflective aspect informs PgCert and Fellowship assessment, but it is not an official evaluation of teaching and is not intended for other internal or legal applications such as probation or disciplinary action.

Part One
Observee to complete in brief and send to observer prior to the observation or review:

What is the context of this session within the curriculum?

Course: BSc/MSc Fashion Management, London College of Fashion, Unit: Product Management. The seminar is held after a morning lecture on the topic. We will be in the third week of teaching on this unit, starting to build research and information for the assessment.

How long have you been working with this group and in what capacity?

This will be my third week with this group, as Unit Lead and Lecturer.

What are the intended or expected learning outcomes?

The seminar will be split into two sections, one with Tim Williams, on Exploring Size and Fit, and the second with me, working on building content for their assessment portfolio.

The students will start researching the introduction/rationale and building mood boards for a SS26 collection, for a brand they have chosen to study for the unit assessment. They will be discussing their final choice of brand & building a mind map for the brand with me during the seminar.

LO1 An understanding of fashion forecasting and design management processes and their role in the creation of sustainable fashion product (enquiry). 

LO3 An understanding of the creation and planning of a successful product range using data analytical tools (process)

What are the anticipated outputs (anything students will make/do)?

To finalise their brand choice, rationale behind that choice and continue building mood boards for colour, shape, prints & graphics and fabrics.

Are there potential difficulties or specific areas of concern?

This is a 40 credit unit for which the students will have to produce a 5 part portfolio for assessment. Keeping up with the workload is a challenge, so at this stage effective planning to achieve the desired outcome is critical.

How will students be informed of the observation/review?

They will have been verbally informed during the morning lecture.

What would you particularly like feedback on?

Am I communicating requirements and activities effectively?

How will feedback be exchanged?

Written feedback as per the requirements of this form.

Part Two

Observer to note down observations, suggestions and questions:

Hi Julia

Thank you for letting me join your post-lecture session of BSc/MSc Fashion Management, which was an interesting mix of seminar and 1:1 tutorials. You wanted feedback on communicating requirement and activities effectively, so I’ve included a few comments on that below but added a few other things that I thought were worth pointing out. I hope you find them useful in your reflection.

Communicating Activities and Requirements

You introduced the session’s focus on fit and size, clearly outlining its relevance to sustainability before explaining that Tim, a guest lecturer, would join later, helping students understand the seminar’s broader context. I thought you effectively communicated key course requirements and assessment expectations at different points of the session, helping students understand the steps needed to complete their work. When explaining the session’s purpose, you handed over handouts and signposted Moodle resources, signposting multiple access points of information on the same topic (e.g. verbal, printed, and online), promoting a degree of student agency. You also reinforced assessment expectations (e.g. the range plan is a mandatory part of the assessment and will need to be presented in Formative Assessment 2), helping students focus on requirements. You also provided practical guidance on research,  clarifying aspects of the brief when needed (e.g. the history of the brand is less important than its sustainability strategy), and pointing students toward useful resources and tools such as GoodOnYou and the Fashion Revolution Fashion Transparency Index. This  encourages students to focus their research on industry-relevant sustainability criteria.

Perhaps one area to refine is ensuring students remain focused during your initial explanations. Some students seemed distracted on phones, laptops, or engaged in private conversations during the initial stages. While I appreciate you want to keep an informal and relaxed atmosphere, perhaps a more directive approach from the start would help, given the size and characteristics of the group. They really respond well to your directions (e.g. when you draw their attention to relay relevant questions and answers that came up during the tutorials), so I wonder if you could take more advantage of this and direct their attention to you more explicitly (e.g. everyone, eyes to the front please) at the start of the seminar to help them focus on your explanations or demonstrations on the screen (once you got it working, great problem-solving by the way!!!)

Linking Theory to Industry Practice

I thought you connected sustainability concepts to industry practices really well, demonstrating who to apply key concepts in professional contexts. You introduced the topic of waste by linking it to production practices such as sample production, fabric cutting, and print production. This helped students understand how size and fit contribute to sustainability challenges at different stages of production.

Your use of industry examples further strengthened these connections. When discussing sustainability strategies, you prompted students to think critically about brand competition (e.g. If Primark prices are going up, what does that mean? Think of relativity of the chosen brand and competition). Encouraging students to analyse current industry trends help them focus on how sustainability fits into business strategy.

Your use of practical tools and templates also supported student learning. You signposted the Moodle page, examples, and explained one of the templates, helping students understand how to structure their research effectively.

Encouraging Reflection and Critical Thinking

From the start you encouraged reflection on the lecture (e.g.  Was there anything from the lecture anyone is confused about?) and linked it to key themes on the course and their research. This allowed students to identify areas where they needed clarification, reinforcing an active learning approach.  Throughout the sessions, you provided examples and asked questions to help students critically engage with industry practices and apply this to their own projects.

Supporting Students in Ad-Hoc Tutorials

I couldn’t catch everything from where I was sitting but enough to get a sense of what you were doing. For example, you prompted  students to refine their ideas and offered scaffolded guidance (e.g.  Have you decided on your brand? Look at their website, think of X, see if you can find…). You also encouraged them to produce SMART goals (e.g. If your brand currently uses 30% recycled polyester, how could that be increased?), helping students move beyond vague statements and instead develop concrete, measurable sustainability strategies.

One thing I noticed is that many students not engaged in 1:1 tutorials seemed distracted and not on task, so I just wonder if it’d be a good idea to set a more structured task (e.g. timed tasks like show and tell on their research, completing a checklist or a specific document) and check they are on task before starting 1:1s.

Part Three

Observee to reflect on the observer’s comments and describe how they will act on the feedback exchanged:

Thankyou so much for your feedback Victor, it is always useful to hear positive assurances about my teaching techniques and impact on student engagement. Coming from a more industry focused, rather than an academic background, it is good for my confidence and understanding of my own personal development as an educator to receive such comments, thankyou.

I completely agree with your comment regarding strategies for keeping the students focused on the class tasks, particularly whilst conducting 1:1 discussions. I really liked your suggestion regarding “show and tell” of their research, which is something I will implement in classes after the spring break.

Regarding the fact that students were on phones, laptops and engaged in private conversations during my initial explanations, this is often a source of frustration, particularly when dealing with the larger group of approx. 140 students in a more formal lecture format. As a direct result of your pointing it out, I have started to take a more pro-active approach to managing this. During the lecture this morning, for which we had a guest speaker, I was able to make my way around the room, asking the students in question, politely but firmly, to refrain from being on their phones in class. I will continue to find ways of implementing this pro-active approach in class to maintain concentration levels.

Once again, your comments are much appreciated!

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TPP Case Study 1 – Knowing and Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners

Posted on 16th March 2025 by Julia Redman

Contextual Background  

The teaching of my current first year group of BSc/MSc Fashion Management Students is first and foremost a large cohort of around 140 UK and international students. As such, they have a very broad range of academic backgrounds and a very diverse cultural base for their studies. We have many students with a variety of learning needs and differences, and many are very far from home for the first time in their lives.

The diversity in student culture, education and background, I believe, makes for a far more interesting experience, and contributes to the success of both students and educators (Polger & Sheidlower, 2017 Ch 3).

Evaluation

My general strategic approach is one of listening, compassion and encouragement. I try to make sure that I am as approachable as possible, and spend at least some of the time in each weekly seminar working my way around the room to speak to students individually or in their table groups, as they are working on tasks, exercises or projects. In the words of Stephen R Covey ‘Seek first to understand, then be understood’. In doing this I can begin to guage which individuals are going to be high achievers without the need for intervention, and which might need more support.

The group work increases opportunity for peer to peer learning, cross-cultural friendship and classroom debate, all of which have the potential to make for a more fulfilling student experience. Recontextualising studies in this way has created opportunities for students to learn more freely and creatively. “Signature pedagogies enable students to learn to think and act as a professional would. These pedagogies also help to create social learning environments where students learn collaboratively.” (Orr & Shreeve, 2017, p. 90)

The opportunity is in engaging all of these students in ways they can relate to, ensuring that they all progress to achieve their best possible outcome.

Moving forwards  

Lectures in person: I will continue to vary the content, including video, thought provoking imagery and real life examples from my own experience, in order to “bring the subject to life” in a realistic and engaging format. A good example of this is the video I often use at the beginning of a lecture on Sustainability & Ethics in Fashion Sourcing (Fairtrade; The First Step, 2017), which shows the impact of the fashion industry in producing regions (in a factory I have visited), and a day in the life of a garment factory worker – it really hammers home the responsibility we have as individuals and businesses to do better!

Having recently learned how to add subtitles to any video I am showing, this will become a consistent element of my teaching, to reach every one of this diverse student cohort. I am also learning how to use Slido, in order to increase the interactive connection in lectures, and encourage real time responses from students who might otherwise feel intimidated by speaking up in front of such a large class. I have also begun to reference content from previous units and my colleagues to encourage students to think more holistically about their learning experience and development of their knowledge.

Seminars in person: I plan to increase the activity and workshop elements of my seminar classes, breaking each 2.5hr seminar down into manageable segments and varying the content each week to include activities such as the object-based learning techniques (Hardie, 2015). Hardie quotes: “Objects can be particularly stimulating in relation to learning processes when handled and studied closely. Objects can act to ground abstract experiences, can enable recall of knowledge, and can arouse curiosity.” (Hooper-Greenhill, 1999, p. 21, cited in Hardie, p. 19). Combined with group work, problem-solving learning, as described by Biggs (1999), who explains that “the teaching method is to present them with problems to solve; the assessment is based on how well they solve them”, and a quiz element to guage the success of the techniques used, I aim to further develop the evolution of my academic practice.

Group tutorials and formative assessment: Having experienced a lack of enthusiasm and engagement with the formative assessment process in the past, I plan to run these presentations and verbal feedback opportunities in a small group format, rather than as a whole class. The first objective is to make the process less formal, and more palatable for the students, particularly those who suffer from anxiety when presenting. The second objective is to encourage them to share information and learn from one another, and demonstrate my own willingness to learn from them in the context of my own personal and professional development, particularly in relation to their diverse needs and cultural backgrounds.

In conclusion: Engaging in use of the above techniques, in addition to individual online and in person tutorials, will help me know and work with the students more closely, and potentially drive improved engagement across the cohort.

As Hardie states in relation to object-based learning “Students are encouraged to interpret the objects: ‘Interpretation is the process for constructing meaning. Interpretation is part of the process of understanding.’”

I anticipate that applying these strategies will improve the overall student experience of the unit, and drive engagement in the formative assessment process, culminating in an uplift in the attainment level at summative assessment.

References 

Biggs, J. (1999). What the Student Does: teaching for enhanced learning. Higher Education Research & Development, 18(1), 57–75. https://doi.org/10.1080/0729436990180105

Fairtrade: The First Step (2017) Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1gIKo0kti4

Hardie, Kirsten, Higher Education Academy (2015), Innovative Pedagogies Series: Wow: The power of objects in object-based learning and teaching. Available at: https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets.creode.advancehe-document-manager/documents/hea/private/kirsten_hardie_final_1568037367.pdf (Accessed: 14.03.2025)

Orr, Susan, and Alison Shreeve. Art and Design Pedagogy in Higher Education : Knowledge, Values and Ambiguity in the Creative Curriculum, Taylor & Francis Group, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ual/detail.action?docID=4941429.

Polger, Mark Aaron & Sheidlower, Scott (2017), Engaging Diverse Learners: Teaching Strategies for Academic Librarians, Bloomsbury Publishing USA. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ual/detail.action?docID=4797324

Slido (2012) Available at: https://www.slido.com/

Stephen R. Covey, Franklin Covey, Available at: https://www.franklincovey.com/courses/the-7-habits/habit-5/


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